Microsoft will possibly suffer a blow in the coming weeks and months with the imminent departure of one of their most important figureheads. Mr Phil Harrison, the corporate VP of Xbox in Europe, has been confirmed to be leaving the company.
Rumours of his departure first came onto the scene in March of this year during GDC, but it has now been confirmed that, “Phil Harrison has chosen to pursue business interests outside of Microsoft”. The current head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has released a statement on the matter wherein he said, “Phil has been a distinguished leader for our European Xbox team – overseeing production at our award-winning European studios and making a substantial contribution to the Xbox business globally. I want to thank Phil for his creativity and leadership over the past three years. Phil is a great friend of mine and I wish him the very best with his future endeavours.”
Mr Harrison has spoken about his departure in his own statement which he released to GamesIndustry, in which he said, “I have enjoyed the last three years at Microsoft enormously and it has been a privilege to lead and work along side the incredible talent within Microsoft Studios in Europe, including Rare, Lionhead, Lift, Soho and Press Play. I wish them and my many friends throughout the Xbox world every continued success and know that games will continue to prosper across Microsoft under Phil Spencer’s leadership.”
Previously he has worked on PlayStation with Sony, so it will be interesting to see where he will head next.
